Attempting to cure my Seborrheic Dermatitis by cutting out Gluten, Wheat and Dairy...

Hi guys, I joined this site to discuss claims one can get rid of seb derm by cutting out certain foods. I started about 24 hours ago and will periodically update until it's gone or I realise it's simply not working. My diet will consist of -

Vegetables

Fruits (including innocent smoothies)

Extra virgin olive oil cold pressed and unrefined

Prawns

Sea salt

Organic salmon

Gluten, Wheat and Dairy free cooking sauce

And that is it. I've had seb derm for about a year now and it's completely ruining my life, most days I am unable to leave the house due to the exessive dry patches. I've tried creams, shampoos, you name it and nothing has worked. This is my last hope so wish me luck.

Well I started on Sunday night, so it's been about 2 and a half days now. There seems to be some improvment in the redness but there's still flaking and I have that familiar burning sensation on my face. Regardless I didn't expect a miracle in 2 days. Will update again on the 5th day.

Well I lasted about 5-6 days on the diet, and it didn't work. I'm looking into allergy tests now but there's all sorts of tests you can do for allergies with different price ranges. Is there a specific type I should ask for?

I stumbled onto this thread because I am exploring the possibility that gluten sensitivity is the root cause of my Seborrheic Dermatitis as well. I have had mild Seborrheic Dermatitis my entire adult life (going on 30+ years). A decade or so ago, I was also diagnosed with chronic anemia, but after many tests, no cause was found.

I recently had both igE and IgG tests run. The igE came back totally clear and I am awaiting the results of the IgG.

Several months ago, when I first suspected that gluten was the root cause, I went gluten free for 60 days. At the end of thirty days, my dermatitis was completely gone. I would have continued the gluten free diet, but needed to be eating gluten for at least 6 weeks to be tested properly. I had a few very small flare ups of dermatitis in the later half of my gluten free period, but as soon as I added gluten back, the dermatitis returned as bad or worse than ever. Now that those tests are done, I am gluten free again, though only for a few days now. I'll be interested to see how this plays out. I would suggest that if your Dermatitis is severe, it could take months before being gluten free would show any benefit. It can take months for all traces of gluten to leave your system.

Hi pozzo, I just saw your message now. I guess I did prematurely end my diet. I'm on my second day of a gluten free diet again, this time I will keep going for at least 30 days. How long did it take for you to see some noticeable improvment? And how is your skin now?

The first time around, my dermatitis was nearly gone after about three weeks, but since I posted this, much has changed. I went back on gluten, as I said, to be tested properly. All tests came back showing no sensitivity to gluten, but in the process of adding gluten back and then going off it again, the dermatitis was as bad as it has ever been. After that I spent three months gluten free, tracking everything I ate, trying to find what foods caused problems. I have been back to eating everything again for about six weeks. In my case, as I said, I also have chronic anemia, which appears to be tied to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I have been tracking everything I eat, and the only pattern I have discerned is that the dermatitis flares in conjunction with the IBS. So, it appears that in my case, gluten itself may not be to blame, but some combinations of foods likely are.

So what was the reaction when you went 3 months gluten free? Did the SD clear up again? I'm on my 3rd or 4th day now and I am seeing a positive reaction, the flaking and redness has decreased on my cheeks, but strangely it has increased on my eyebrows. I'm hoping this is just a phase and it will eventually subside. I'm also doing something called the Salt Water Flush which flushes everthing out of your digestive system, the only downside is it flushes out both good and bad bacteria, so I plan on taking probiotics alongside.

My diet for the last few days has consisted only of Organic Gluten Free Cereal and lactose free milk. From today i'll be changing it to Organic Salmon, fruits and vegetables and probiotics. Will continue logging my progress.

My body's reaction of being gluten-free for three months was very mixed. Some days were better than others, but generally, there was very little difference in the long run, which is why I abandoned being strictly gluten-free. I tend to avoid gluten now, but not entirely. Since all of my allergy tests have been negative, finding what foods or combinations of foods are the trouble has been difficult.

As for IBS, that has been a slowly developing diagnosis, and only came up as I began paying very close attention to both input and output ;) and noticed that I was almost always either constipated or having very loose bowel movements. The one thing I have noted is that my dermatitis increases in intensity whenever my bowels are inflamed.

I have attempted taking pro-biotics, but they actually seem to make things worse for me. I am currently taking a break from the pro-biotics and my Physician has suggested that I try a non-FOS (sugar compound added to many) pro-biotic when I start those up again.

[QUOTE=PsychoMantis;5089846]Hi pozzo,

So what was the reaction when you went 3 months gluten free? Did the SD clear up again? I'm on my 3rd or 4th day now and I am seeing a positive reaction, the flaking and redness has decreased on my cheeks, but strangely it has increased on my eyebrows. I'm hoping this is just a phase and it will eventually subside. I'm also doing something called the Salt Water Flush which flushes everthing out of your digestive system, the only downside is it flushes out both good and bad bacteria, so I plan on taking probiotics alongside.

My diet for the last few days has consisted only of Organic Gluten Free Cereal and lactose free milk. From today i'll be changing it to Organic Salmon, fruits and vegetables and probiotics. Will continue logging my progress.

Oh and how were you diagnosed with IBS? What were your symptoms?[/QUOTE]

I had Seb Derm on my scalp, not sure if you have too, but my Dermatologist suggested using Nizoral shampoo, available in Boots.
Brilliant stuff, used it twice and it went, i just use rarely to keep at bay now.
It could also be worth seeing a Derm locally see if they can help over and above everything else you are doing.
SP